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So‐called “good time” credits have long been a feature of the correctional system in the United States. They serve to cut an inmate's prison sentence administratively and are awarded either for good behavior or on completion of educational, treatment, or work programs, or both. Because these credits are contingent upon the inmate's actions, “good time” is often also referred to as “earned credit.” Others distinguish between “good time,” awarded upon compliance with prison rules, and “earned time,” the discount granted upon program completion or participation in work projects. Many states also reward especially meritorious acts, such as preventing a prison breakout, with time credit. The scope of these discounts, however, has varied over time and between jurisdictions, inside and outside the United States.

Prosecutorial decisions play an important, and sometimes a decisive, role in a defendant’s ultimate sentence. They begin with the selection of charges and may end with a recommendation on clemency or expungement of a criminal conviction. The influence of prosecutors over the sentence, therefore, is far more extensive than that of any other official. The charging decision sets the starting point for the sentence range. The prosecution tends to control entry into diversion programs that may spare an offender a criminal record after complying with a set of requirements. Plea bargains, which have become more frequent even in Europe’s civil law countries, usually focus on the type and scope of the criminal justice sentence. Mandatory minimum sentences, mandatory aggravators, and stacked charges provide prosecutors with overwhelming bargaining power, causing many defendants to waive their right to a trial. Judges tend to follow the parties’ agreements and impose the recommended sentence. In many states prosecutors routinely weigh in on parole decisions and determine whether to proceed against defendants for supervision violations. Even in clemency decisions, they frequently submit a recommendation.